Hoteliers worried about dim summer 2023

Local hoteliers are expecting a favourable winter period due to pent-up travel demand, but continue to be worried that it will not spill over into what is currently projected to be a dim summer 2023, due mainly to reduced airlift to the island.

Chairman of the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) Renee Coppin said occupancy rates for members were now 75 per cent for this month, 67 per cent for December, 66 per cent for January next year, 72 per cent for February, 55 per cent for March and April 37 per cent.

“There are positive signs again for this winter . . . . If we continue to see good booking pace, we may outdo last year’s performance in January and February. 

“March will be more of a challenge given that the England cricket tour which took place in March last year and always provides a massive boon for tourism, will be missing this year [2023] . April, too, shows signs again of a worrying slowdown in pace, which we will need to monitor,” Coppin pointed out.

Unfortunately, she added, “we are . . . facing a summer 2023 that looks like it will closely mirror summer 2022”.

“This summer, we reported one of our major concerns being that of the reduction of airlift relative to 2019.

“Between June and October 2022, that reduction represented just over 58 per cent in flights and 62 per cent in seats to the destination. This has in no small part been responsible for our falloff in visitor arrivals year-to-date September which, according to the Barbados Statistical Service, stood at 303 394 – a falloff from the 520 881 passengers who are recorded as having visited in 2019; an absolute difference of 217 487. Our analysis shows that 2023 summer airlift is practically a carbon copy of this year,” explained Coppin.

“One of the segments that has been most affected by this decline in arrivals is the small hotels. In its update on member performance, the Intimate Hotels of Barbados reported that members are looking forward to a positive winter period after a very slow summer. One member described it as the worst summer they experienced in over a decade,” she said. 

However, Coppin said bookings for this segment continued to pick up this winter and the outlook from December to April is for improved occupancy levels for many members, ranging from 50 to 90 per cent.

The BHTA official pointed to airline industry challenges of staff shortages, changes to aircraft and pilot training as contributing to the decline in airlift capacity.

She said new Minister of Tourism Ian Gooding-Edghill has committed to focusing on airlift.

“So we look forward to working with him and his team on how best we can support the needs of the industry, especially as we look to welcome additional product next year in the form of the 422-room Wyndham Hotel.

“We acknowledge the challenges but we also know that in life you get what you work for and certainly what you negotiate, so we will continue our fight to ensure Barbados regains our share of airlift. Certainly, we are encouraged that the awareness and commitment are there at the highest levels.

“We are also pleased to see even more dining experiences coming on stream with the recently opened Calma Beach, Bearded Rose and the return of The Cliff. We hope to be welcoming them all as members very soon,” Coppin added.

She said industry officials remained “very cognisant” of lingering global risks, especially in key source markets, such as rising inflation in the UK, slow economic growth in the United States, as well as the ongoing war in Ukraine.

“Even more worrying are predictions that the UK will enter into recession in 2023. When this is combined with the high rates of inflation, we can see that we will need to be very watchful,” the BHTA chairman said.

Coppin said there should be a strategic effort to build out sports tourism and cultural tourism that have traditionally provided some buffer during the slower summer period, as well as “a calendar of meaningful events” to make the island more attractive during summer.

The BHTA’s chief executive officer Geoffrey Roach said while there were some green shoots in relation to work being done to increase airlift to the island, more was required given the airlines’ challenges.

“Until we can get the airlift ramped back up to the 2019 levels, even though there is pent-up demand we will not likely see the full effect of that pent-up demand,” he said. 

(MM)